One of my pending assignments is to work on a Marketing Strategy for Waterstone's that would help them survive in this digital age where bookstores are becoming obsolete. What does the future hold for the likes of Waterstone's? Are people buying books as a paper copy or digital version? Are people buying these books physically from a bookstore or do they prefer ordering them off the Internet?
Upon receipt of this project, many thoughts raced through my brain about what I would need to do to get the ball rolling -- as horrible as it sounds, I'm really excited about this challenge. This is a valid problem and though many of us might be naive in thinking that it's not really a big deal, ask yourself one thing - when was the last time you visited a public library? When was the last time you've used a cassette player, VHS, or even a walk-man? Things that we never thought would go away are so scarce today as we're more digital savvy with our new techno toys.
To get started on this project, I did what any sensible Marketeer would do. I went shopping :). Now I must admit that I felt like a fish out of water. I do appreciate bookstores and love their ambiance, but it was a very awkward feeling. I remember when it was cool to go to a book store. I actually remember going on a date once at a book store (Barnes & Nobles in fact) and now for some unknown reason the bookstore environment have become so cold and 'elite'. Maybe it's just me, but one often feels as though you must always be on best behaviour, speak perfect grammar, and behave like the posh folks when you're in a book store so there is no wonder why these stores are becoming retail dinosaurs.
N-E-How, my job is to find a solution and not gripe about their hang ups. By the way, what do you think of their new logo? I think that it's going to take more than a font to change this brand's tone of voice.
Click on this link to return to my webpage.
Upon receipt of this project, many thoughts raced through my brain about what I would need to do to get the ball rolling -- as horrible as it sounds, I'm really excited about this challenge. This is a valid problem and though many of us might be naive in thinking that it's not really a big deal, ask yourself one thing - when was the last time you visited a public library? When was the last time you've used a cassette player, VHS, or even a walk-man? Things that we never thought would go away are so scarce today as we're more digital savvy with our new techno toys.
To get started on this project, I did what any sensible Marketeer would do. I went shopping :). Now I must admit that I felt like a fish out of water. I do appreciate bookstores and love their ambiance, but it was a very awkward feeling. I remember when it was cool to go to a book store. I actually remember going on a date once at a book store (Barnes & Nobles in fact) and now for some unknown reason the bookstore environment have become so cold and 'elite'. Maybe it's just me, but one often feels as though you must always be on best behaviour, speak perfect grammar, and behave like the posh folks when you're in a book store so there is no wonder why these stores are becoming retail dinosaurs.
N-E-How, my job is to find a solution and not gripe about their hang ups. By the way, what do you think of their new logo? I think that it's going to take more than a font to change this brand's tone of voice.
Click on this link to return to my webpage.
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